lime. It is in the center of the renowned "shallow water belt" of the South Plains. Tulia is located on the Middle Tule Creek for which it was named.

It is possible that some of the early Spanish explorers passed through Swisher County, according to Lula Marjorie Conner Miller's paper written in 1941 while a student in Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She states that it is more probable that Coronado journeyed through Swisher County in 1541, since there is some" evidence that a farmer used a lance head to mark off his land for several years. Mr. Joe H. Green of Hereford noticed the lance head in a field between Tulia and Hereford being used as a stake. At first he thought it was a buffalo spear, but when he scraped the dirt
and rust off, he found these words carved on
it: "Por Mi Rey" or "For My King." The
Tulia Times Herald dated July 13, 1939 describes the find thus: "The style of the letters definitely place the lance in the early Spanish

era, and as Coronado's expedition is the only known Spanish invasion of the Southern Panhandle, the relic is believed to be the most important evidence yet discovered pointing to the authenticity of the theory that Coronado's route led him across the South Plains to the Palo Duro Canyon."

Click inage to enlarge.